Real Problems

Another criticism is that the world of Girls is privileged, that the main characters all have a huge sense of entitlement. She holds up her hands. “I cannot fight you on that. No one in this show is on welfare, no one has what we would call, in quotes, ‘real problems’, but I also believe problems are relative, and although some people are born in unspeakably terrible conditions, some people are born in the suburbs of Michigan and everybody is in pain. I’m talking about the kind of pain I know about. Other people talk about the pain they know about, and there’s room for all of it. My dad said this thing that really inspired the show in a lot of ways. He said this is the first time in American history when kids can expect to do less well than their parents.”

I like this Lena Dunham interview in the Guardian.

If you want to talk about “real problems,” let’s talk about how I haven’t watched Girls yet this season because my sister’s boyfriend’s parents cancelled their HBOGo subscription. Nooooooo. (Please send messages of support and HBOGo passwords to meaghan@thebillfold.com.)

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